The winners of this year’s ID People Awards – the Oscars of the Auto ID industry – were revealed on November 16th during the seventh ID WORLD International Congress, held in Milan. At the annual ceremony, awards were presented in recognition of the contribution made by thought leaders, innovators and pioneering adopters who distinguished themselves by their achievements during the past year.

The Big Five

Five awards were handed out following the nomination and voting by the ID Community, who have supported the initiative with enthusiasm during the last months. The categories and winners are:

ID Community Award

For his drive in opening Japanese technology to the world in ubiquitous networking and computing through the uID, which is at the core of the management of ubiquitous ID architecture. He is the ‘father’ of the concept of ‘Internet of Things’ because he was the first one to be interested in making computers small and embedding them in many objects in the real world. He also led the TRON (“The Realtime Operating system Nucleus”) Project.

ID Leadership Award

For showing a true leadership role in the Brazilian Association of Digital Identification Technology, in coordinating the efforts of private and public organizations that resulted in the implementation of a national identification program for Brazil – RIC (CIR) – Civil Identity Registration. He not only had the program approved by law, but achieved the regulation for a program, which utilizes the most recent identification technology, emitting 160 million cards during a period of 6-8 years. Célio Ribeiro was able to create a synchrony among all of the digital identification companies settled in Brazil and the Brazilian Government, so that the project was accepted.

ID Limelight Award

For being the force behind a transformational project ID project in India. Nandan Nilekani has built a core team of less than 200 people and is ready to roll out what is the world’s most ambitious identity program to provide identification cards for each resident across the country and would be used primarily as the basis for efficient delivery of welfare services. It would also act as a tool for effective monitoring of various programs and schemes of the Government.

ID Trail Blazer Award

For his vision in the European Commission in the smart sustainable transport “Europe 2020” strategy, aimed at smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The role of transport in making the economy function, regain strength and respond to new political challenges is explicitly recognized in the strategy’s seven flagship initiatives. His philosophy that transport is an essential backbone of European economies and society has influenced the Commission’s new European long-term vision for the future of transport and mobility.

ID Outstanding Achievement Award

For his pioneering efforts in bringing India from nowhere to the state-of-the art in biometric ID management; for developing technology and processes for emerging countries: for successfully implementing the world’s largest unique citizen ID database, the world’s largest multi-biometric citizen ID system, the world’s largest corporate unique ID system, India’s first state-wide inter-connected LiveScan and AFIS for police, and more. His thought leadership led India to start its nation-wide unique ID project for 1.2 billion residents, to which he provided technology, processes and techniques innovated for Indian rural conditions.

Honorable Mention Asset Tracking Forum

Dr. Basem Madani, Chairman of Computer Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia, for the work carried out at KFUPM’s smart card & RFID lab, which was established to spread RFID know how among its students and the community as well as offering consultancy to local industry and research pilots, to further the adoption of the technology in Saudi Arabia.

Honorable Mention Transportation Security Forum

Franco Caraffi, Reservations and On-board Director of Costa Crociere, received the Honorable Mention in the Transportation Security Forum in recognition of his work in furthering the introduction of reliable, proven, state-of-the-art ICT technologies on board ship, such as one card for all payments for onboard services, and passenger identity verification, based on mobile terminals and self-service kiosks.

Postal Innovation Award

The new Postal Innovation Award, created to give voice and visibility to the leaders spearheading adoption of auto ID and wireless technologies for innovation in the Postal industry, was won by Walter Gritzner, Business Manager of Keba, for implementing innovations in the postal sector surrounding the logistics of integrating smart hardware and software into existing postal networks, such as the Kepol system for secure parcel logistics.

HealthTech Innovation Award

The new HealthTech Innovation award specific to the healthcare industry, which is emerging as a major adopter of auto ID technologies, was won by Antti Korhonen, CEO of Ekahau, for his commitment to innovation in deploying asset and people tracking applications in the healthcare sector – particularly in the field of RTLS (Real-Time Location Systems).

Sustainability Summit Award

The Sustainability Summit Award, created in 2009 to give voice and visibility to the leaders spearheading adoption of sustainable technology, was won by David Orban, the founder of WideTag, for fostering a new philosophy defining the co-evolution of technology and society in the field of sustainable development, cutting across the limits of deep specialization to contribute to the new renaissance.

Innovation Italy Award

This year’s Innovation Italy Award went to Ing. Romano Volta, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Datalogic Scanning, for transforming the company, founded in 1972, into one with steady growth and lasting strategic results at the international level, becoming a global player in a market that is highly innovative. The award was presented by Vincent Santacroce, Marketing Director of Integrated & Digital Services, with Poste Italiane and winner of the 2008 Innovation Italy Award

The ID People Awards are assigned each year to outstanding members of the ID Revolution community who have distinguished themselves in terms of commitment, leadership, creativity and innovation. The ID People Awards, sponsored by the publication ID People, are awarded in the following categories: ID Community Award, ID Leadership Award, ID Limelight Award, ID Trail Blazer Award and ID Outstanding Achievement Award. To see all the nominees, click here